Harmful effect The first species of Dinophysis identified as the causative agent of DSP outbreaks(Yasumoto et al. 1980). Producer of okadaic acid (OA), dinophysis toxins (DTX1)and pectenotoxins (PTX2), toxins implicated in DSP. The main agent of DSP outbreaks in Japan and the Adriatic Sea. Accompanies other species of Dinophysis during DSP events in many parts of the world.
Analyses of picked cells by HPLC-FD showed some Japanese strains contained OA (23 pg/cell) and other contained very high levels of DTX1 (13-191.5 pg/cell) and PTX2 (42.5 pg/cell) (Lee et al. 1989). More recent analyses by LC-MS showed cells containing DTX1 (8-11 pg/cell) and PTX2 (51-64 pg/cell) (Suzuki et al. 2009). Populations from the Adriatic Sea had dominance of PTX but also contained OA (15 pg/cell) (Draisci et al. 1996). [details]

Importance General: known for producing dangerous toxins, particularly when in large numbers, called "red tides" because the cells are so abundant they make water change color. Also they can produce non-fatal or fatal amounts of toxins in predators (particularly shellfish) that may be eaten by humans. [details]